- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Workshop Important Info 1/14 & 1/15, 2017
by Jeff 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

I *may* be able to come for a while Saturday, but probably wouldn't need a table. If I do I could bring my Fluke 9010a or any other specialty crap I have for any troubleshooting anyone needs to do, and generally I'd be there to offer comic relief and help anyone else with projects. JeffG (aka Bags)

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Have to cancel for Saturday
by Neil Cherry 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

;-(Waaaaa) I'm going to be working on Saturday so I can't attend. -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

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BSD ports to vintage
by william degnan 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

Starting new thread reply to my post about the Next OS ... Was the Nix port to the DEC Rainbow supported officially or did they bless it but not support it? An exhibit about Berkley UNIX / BSD micros with the focus on the drive for a lower-cost yet powerful-enough machine, leading to the Next Cube might be interesting. There were attempts to port crappy Nix's onto machines that did not have the power to really support them. The early articles about the i386 touched on "finally" we have something that can run UNIX on a micro. Bill Degnan twitter: billdeg vintagecomputer.net

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] re Lisa Xenix exhibit
by william degnan 11 Jan '17

11 Jan '17

> > Hi Jason: > > So like I said on the maillist, I think this is cool. I look forward to seeing it. > > I've been trying to work towards some Xenix representation in my collection. > Nothing there yet... I thought I might get a TRS-80 Model II there but its a big undertaking. > For the me fact that in the face of Linux it appears its one of the mistakes of Microsoft to > not stay involved with the Unix OS is historically very interesting. > Now on the Lisa... wow... a foreshadow of NextOS and OSX too! > Is there any testimony supporting that this could have been a seed > for Job's job's to look to Unix as the basis of NextOS after leaving Apple? :O > > I usually try to convey some historical significance in my exhibit... and had > to with my past "Spread Sheet" exhibit. Spreadsheets have NO flash. > I sidestepped that reality with the "what if spreadsheets had come to us on a Cosmac ELF" > Hope the ideas help you see some other ways to consider the "interestingness" of > what you have there. > > -DC I think you are onto something interesting with an exhibit of the milestones that lead up to the Next OS, but you'll find that its path did not much involve the Lisa. Attempts to connect a hacked toether Lisa Xenix to the Berkley BSD variant that became the Next OS is a bit of history in hindsight. Even if you have Xenix running on the Lisa what about networking to do something useful with it, using what was available at the time, without having to develop something new? I think Lisa Xenix was an afterthought OS not what the manufacturer intended, kind of like efforts to put MS DOS on the Commodore B Series machines by adding an 8088 coprocessor. For this increasingly hypothetical Next OS exhibit, one could walk through dev milestones that lead to the Next OS as the end point. Show a Next Cube plus one or two earlier BSD UNIX micros, workststions, minis if you coukd find them. What the Next OS represented was a cheap UNIX machine, less than $10,000 was a pretty big deal at the time. Problem for exhibit...The early UNiX workstations are very rare, few have caught on yet that these are worth saving, many have been trashed. A Perq would be nice or an early Motorola mini. This is an area that deserves more attention. Bill

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re Lisa Xenix exhibit
by Douglas Crawford 10 Jan '17

10 Jan '17

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OT: Lab/Scientific hotplate needed
by Joseph Oprysko 10 Jan '17

10 Jan '17

I have some chemical and biological tests I need to run in my apartment. But I am woefully short on the supplies. Most I can pick up relatively inexpensive, tubes, graduated cylinder, etc. but I need a hotplate with good temperature controls to ensure the validity of the tests. Would anyone happen to have one lying around (in the Philadelphia area) Thanks, Joe -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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System 36 Terminal for $1200 or a Commodore 64.
by Christian Liendo 10 Jan '17

10 Jan '17

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/sys/5949282727.html So he thinks the terminal is worth $1200 or one of the computers below. I don't understand him, but maybe one of you might want to call >From the advertisement Willing to accept cash or trade ins of the following computer gear any condition: 486, 386 286 186 8086 Intel / tandy jr, IBM Tandy Radio Shack, trs-80 Apple II, IIe, II+, Franklin Commodore 64, 128 Dragon 32 Atari ST / STE / Falcon / MegaST Atari 800 / 400 TI-99 4a Cartridge based Systems NEC turbo Graphics / PC engine Sinclair. Z-80 Amiga 500, Amiga 1000, Any Commodore Amiga

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Osborne 1 Craigslist
by Joseph Oprysko 09 Jan '17

09 Jan '17

Here's something if anyone is interested. He's asking 200, but would likely take $150. Manuals, modem, etc. http://cnj.craigslist.org/sys/5917864959.html -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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Looking for an SSD to SCSI bridge compatible with DEC
by Matt Patoray 09 Jan '17

09 Jan '17

Hi all, I am looking to get my AlphaServer 2100 back online, since it's winter here in Ohio and I would not have to worry much about heat. I am looking for a bridge that uses an SSD and has a 50 pin SCSI output and can be configured to work with DEC. Matt Sent from my iPhone

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C116 on Ebay for the Commodore Team
by william degnan 09 Jan '17

09 Jan '17

You guys watching this boxed C-116? Getting pricey. Ebay: 252707357480 Bill

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Artist needed: VCF East shirt
by Evan Koblentz 09 Jan '17

09 Jan '17

Everyone, We need a volunteer to design this year's VCF East shirt. There is a good chance we'll use the same design for VCF West. The central theme should be something around the number "12". Our usual artiste is Ragooman. He is taking a break this year. We have some technical guidelines, there are firm/multiple deadlines to meet, and the final design will be approved by the VCFed national board. Anyone who's interested should email me at evan(a)vcfed.org. Please do NOT start a thread here about the design/themes.

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not going to be at the January workshop
by William Dudley 08 Jan '17

08 Jan '17

I misspoke, I'll be away this weekend and so miss the workshop, at which I was going to make a cameo appearance. I'll make a future workshop and drop off "The Chip" at that time. Bill Dudley This email is free of malware because I run Linux.

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Looking for an SSD to SCSI bridge compatible with DEC
by Herb Johnson 08 Jan '17

08 Jan '17

SCSI2SD seems to be a reasonable candidate for solid-state SCSI these days. I don't own one but the Web searching I've done, and the few contacts I've had in the vintage community including old Apple Macs, seems to suggest this is something that functions and is available from a few sources. I'd like to hear more about it from others in our community, and of course if it's succcessful AND when it fails. The problem with most of these hobby-class solutions, is when the person offering them or supporting them loses interest. Myself, I'm not interested in making PC boards and gathering parts, for this class of product - I want to buy it ready for use, but with software available and people working on it. With those criteria, $70 plus shipping is reasonable to me, and my impression is that it's made by a couple of people and one of them appears "commercial". For "DEC" use, find various Web communities discussing this device and look for "DEC". Herb Johnson

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What are you working on for The next great workshop is Jan 14 & 15
by Herb Johnson 08 Jan '17

08 Jan '17

Another request for goodies. On impulse I just bought a TI 99/4 on that auction site, awfully cheap. But it didn't include the AC transformer power supply. I may recieve it by Friday. If anyone can bring that TI 99/4 transformer to the Workshop for sale, that would be appreciated. I'll need the TV switchbox too but that I can probably cobble up. I may well part the thing out, but I'd like to see if it works first, go figure. For testing I presume I can borrow these items from the VCF Warehouse if they are so courteous to lend them for the day. In any event, I'd like a transformer to keep, too. Herb

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wanted: Shugart 850 or 851
by Herb Johnson 08 Jan '17

08 Jan '17

Looking for a Shugart 850 or 851 8-inch floppy drive. That's double sided, full height. Contact me privately (see my Web site) if you have one, parts or complete and what condition - and be ready to ship NOW. Remind me of your city/state so we can figure shipping to Trenton NJ 08618 area. I'll try to attend the VCF/Infoage repair event this weekend, that's an opportunity for pickup/deliver. herb johnson Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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What are you working on for The next great workshop is Jan 14 & 15
by Herb Johnson 08 Jan '17

08 Jan '17

I hope to work on an IMSAI front panel and IMSAI CPU board. I hope to bring a minimum system and do some chip-level testing and repair. I won't run anything of note or have a terminal or monitor or anything else like that. I'm keeping it simple. Weather may affect my attendance, but it looks like warm weather but rainy. I'll bring a few items requested of me by participants. If anyone is looking for something in vintage computing I might have, they should contact me PRIVATELY, check my Web site for my email address. Something I need, is a Shugart 850 or 851 8-inch floppy drive. That's double sided, full height. Working would be nice but nonworking or parts would be of interest. Again, contact me privately for details. Herb Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net

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Last call for workshop
by Jeffrey Brace 07 Jan '17

07 Jan '17

Wednesday January 11 will be the cutoff date. We have about 16 signed up for the workshop. Please let me know if you are coming so that I can have enough tables available. If you do not let me know, then you get no table. Sorry to sound mean or blunt, but there are some people that will remain nameless that just show up and expect a table to be available. I have to make sure that they are available ahead of time and it's a headache for me for people to show up out of the blue without warning and expect to be accommodated at the last minute. We have this list for a reason and I expect that our members would read it and cooperate. Here is the singup link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1deIV8XWD8VX3t3m6ayWdEkyI-23VULUnd--… -- Jeff Brace - ark72axow(a)gmail.com

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museum report
by Evan Koblentz 07 Jan '17

07 Jan '17

The weather kicked our butts this week! Jeff Galinat and I were going to do museum work yesterday. We canceled because of the snowy forecast. Turns out the museum area barely got a dusting. So we changed to today. "2-4 inches" in the forecast was half a foot. Doh! But we drove very carefully got a full day's work in. I gave a tour to a visiting VIP from 10:30-12:30 while JG planned our new book shelves, went to Home Depot for supplies, etc. We removed an old unused radiator from the museum workshop wall. It was in the way and we checked with the powers that be for approval. The actual act of removing the radiator was easy: two bolts and two sawzall cuts. We didn't anticipate some of the pipes and the radiator itself, which was last used several decades ago, being full of dark sludge! :) The good news is no artifacts were sludge'd ... the bad news is sludge went all over the workshop floor, parts of the museum floor, and even parts of the hallway floor as we removed some components from the room. We cleaned up 99% of it. However this took a LOOOOOONG time and that pretty much killed the whole afternoon. But, we got it done, and now the workshop wall by the far windows is useful. Before we couldn't put anything there without having it jut out into the middle of the area. We moved the storage locker and the future Lego LOGO desk to that side. The wall where the bookshelves will go is totally clear now. Home Depot cut the shelves for us into four 1x8-ft. sections. So that was Saturday. Jeff B.: the museum workshop area and particular the workbench are messy. Don't panic. :) I will clean it next time.

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strange computer magazine
by Jeffrey Jonas 07 Jan '17

07 Jan '17

from boingboing_net Yugoslavian computer magazine cover girls of the 1980s-90s http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/QQjtwYKBABU/yugoslavian-c… http://boingboing.net/?p=503600

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InfoAge closed 1/7/17
by Jeffrey Brace 07 Jan '17

07 Jan '17

All InfoAge museums are closed today Saturday January 7, 2017 because of the snow in our area.

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Office chair needed for the museum
by Evan Koblentz 07 Jan '17

07 Jan '17

Everyone, We need an office chair for the PC in our museum workshop area. I'm going to be very picky about what kind. :) All of our museum furniture is chrome. The stools are black/chrome. Our office chair is a ratty old blue thing. It drives me crazy. OCD on high alert! Does anyone have something matching to donate? It should have good back support, adjustable height, and arm rests.

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HP drive
by Mike Loewen 07 Jan '17

07 Jan '17

Look what showed up in my driveway: http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/HP/7935-1.jpg http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/HP/7935-2.jpg HP 7935 drive, 404MB removable pack, HP-IB interface. I need to clean it up, and replace the old foam and the first stage filter. I'm hoping the pack I have is in good shape. http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/Media/Diskpack2-1L.jpg The 7395 has a built-in microprocessor, which controls a large number of diagnostics and even acts as the display for head alignment. This is a drive that will literally walk across the floor during the random seek test, if the feet aren't screwed down all the way. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Logo for VCF-East XII?
by Joseph Oprysko 06 Jan '17

06 Jan '17

Is there a Logo/Graphic for VCF-East XII yet? -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Museum library
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 06 Jan '17

06 Jan '17

Evan Koblentz via vcf-midatlantic writes: >Bill Dud.'s post about donating his copy of "The Chip" reminded me that >I've been meaning to share some good news. > >Jeff Galinat and I are going to do some things in the museum tomorrow, >which will probably include putting up wooden bookshelves. > >Most of our library is in boxes in the warehouse. This is non-ideal >because of climate (no HVAC) and difficulty of access. > >The new shelves will only hold a tiny portion of our library. Our plan >is to use the shelves for our most important material. > >"Most important" as I see it means three main categories: historic >books, historic magazines, and product manuals. > >What follows is a good news / bad news situation. As you read it, please >keep in mind that WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE AVAILABLE >RESOURCES. Sorry to shout :) but I want everyone to understand that >there are topics beyond our control -- finite space, funds, etc. > >The good news: > >1. Our most-historic books are already mostly sorted because they were >boxed up when we vacated the old museum space. The most effective way to >determine "most historic" is by publishing date. Thus, we previously >sorted these books by 1950s, 1960s, etc., and we'll put the oldest ones >on the new shelves first. We'll put as many as we can there until we run >out of space. Obviously there are plenty of historic books from the >1970s and newer, but reality dictates that we're working with a blunt >object not a scalpel. Two exceptions come to mind: 1., our complete-ish >collection of the 1970s "Cookbook" series, and 2., our collection of DEC >handbooks -- both groups are already sorted from the old museum so we'll >make room for them if at all possible. > >2. The vast majority of our most-important magazines are also already >sorted and already in the museum (on a long shelf under the workbench). >We'll move them to the new bookshelves and use the shelf under the bench >for practical things. This collection includes Vol. 1, issue 1, until >December 1979 of Byte, Creative Computing, DDJ, Interface Age, Kilobaud, >SCCS Interface, and a couple of others I'm forgetting right now. It also >includes the first several years of the ACGNJ newsletter, a full run of >the (insanely rare!) People's Computer Company newsletter, a binder >containing the full run of the Amateur Computer Society newsletter, and >the first six years' anthology books of the West Coast Computer Faire >(or maybe that's all the years? I an not sure how many anthologies they >published). > >3. Various manuals for systems in the museum are already on a shelf >above the workbench. And the Gray Wall? :P

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Museum library
by Evan Koblentz 06 Jan '17

06 Jan '17

Bill Dud.'s post about donating his copy of "The Chip" reminded me that I've been meaning to share some good news. Jeff Galinat and I are going to do some things in the museum tomorrow, which will probably include putting up wooden bookshelves. Most of our library is in boxes in the warehouse. This is non-ideal because of climate (no HVAC) and difficulty of access. The new shelves will only hold a tiny portion of our library. Our plan is to use the shelves for our most important material. "Most important" as I see it means three main categories: historic books, historic magazines, and product manuals. What follows is a good news / bad news situation. As you read it, please keep in mind that WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES. Sorry to shout :) but I want everyone to understand that there are topics beyond our control -- finite space, funds, etc. The good news: 1. Our most-historic books are already mostly sorted because they were boxed up when we vacated the old museum space. The most effective way to determine "most historic" is by publishing date. Thus, we previously sorted these books by 1950s, 1960s, etc., and we'll put the oldest ones on the new shelves first. We'll put as many as we can there until we run out of space. Obviously there are plenty of historic books from the 1970s and newer, but reality dictates that we're working with a blunt object not a scalpel. Two exceptions come to mind: 1., our complete-ish collection of the 1970s "Cookbook" series, and 2., our collection of DEC handbooks -- both groups are already sorted from the old museum so we'll make room for them if at all possible. 2. The vast majority of our most-important magazines are also already sorted and already in the museum (on a long shelf under the workbench). We'll move them to the new bookshelves and use the shelf under the bench for practical things. This collection includes Vol. 1, issue 1, until December 1979 of Byte, Creative Computing, DDJ, Interface Age, Kilobaud, SCCS Interface, and a couple of others I'm forgetting right now. It also includes the first several years of the ACGNJ newsletter, a full run of the (insanely rare!) People's Computer Company newsletter, a binder containing the full run of the Amateur Computer Society newsletter, and the first six years' anthology books of the West Coast Computer Faire (or maybe that's all the years? I an not sure how many anthologies they published). 3. Various manuals for systems in the museum are already on a shelf above the workbench. The bad news: The overwhelming majority of our technical books and product manuals will remain boxed up in the warehouse. We simply don't have the people, time, space, or money to change that right now.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Processors exhibit
by Jeffrey Jonas 06 Jan '17

06 Jan '17

There are several story lines for the microcontroller/processor exhibit 1) The Tyrrany Of Numbers: as computers got more complex, there were incredible problems with how to handle so many components. Thousands of tubes for ENIAC and such would not scale up. SAGE required constant maintanance, thus the dual system to keep running. see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyranny_of_numbers That's happening again in a new way: pin count on the package. The 4004 was only 16 pins. 40 pins was common from the 70s to 80s with the 8008, 8080, 8086, 8088, Z80, 6502, 6800 and such. Easy for hobbyists to breadboard or hand-wire. The 68000 was 64 pins. CPUs expanded to 100. Now 1,000 or more with pin-grid array. 2) Moore's Law We're accustomed to speed and capacity doubling and redoubling and prices plummeting, thus the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero, dual/quad/octo-core processors in just about everything (desktop, laptop, even cellphones). 3) wider playing field Despite the "Intel Inside" campaign, the ARM core is in many more devices. Before the Intel/AMD duopoly, there was a wider playing field as demonstrated by all the hobbyist and pre-PC microsystems: Motorola's 6800, MOS's 6502, Zilog's Z80, RCA's 1802. There was quite the shake-out when the PC architecture "won". In a way, the maker/hacker community is aware of this thanks to the Arduio (most are Atmel AVR based), Raspberry Pi (cheap embedded Linux on the ARM core). That's another way to show how it's history repeating itself with the diversity of competing products. And how more innovation comes from people's basements & garages than large companies. The IoT (Internet of Things) is just a new face to microcontroller hackers. -- jeff jonas

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Tyranny of Numbers
by Jack Rubin 06 Jan '17

06 Jan '17

Nice summary and history, thank you, and too easy to forget that many people today aren't aware of it. I view it from a slightly different perspective, as a history of engineering progress - solving problems, advancing to the next plateau, chasing bottlenecks and moving on. There's a cyclical nature to the process but line of development in terms of overall ability to solve problems generally moves in a forward direction. At any given moment, the next challenge may be hardware, software or analytical approach. The last piece - the science part of computer science - is something that is often underexplored in popular presentations. While a multi-million transistor CPU is mind boggling, the mathematical complexity of the great ideas that drive us forward - from Babbage through Shannon and Turing to database structure, image analysis, compiler development, Big Data, etc. is even more daunting. Jack *************************************** There are several story lines for the microcontroller/processor exhibit 1) The Tyrrany Of Numbers: as computers got more complex, there were incredible problems with how to handle so many components. Thousands of tubes for ENIAC and such would not scale up. SAGE required constant maintanance, thus the dual system to keep running. see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyranny_of_numbers That's happening again in a new way: pin count on the package. The 4004 was only 16 pins. 40 pins was common from the 70s to 80s with the 8008, 8080, 8086, 8088, Z80, 6502, 6800 and such. Easy for hobbyists to breadboard or hand-wire. The 68000 was 64 pins. CPUs expanded to 100. Now 1,000 or more with pin-grid array. 2) Moore's Law We're accustomed to speed and capacity doubling and redoubling and prices plummeting, thus the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero, dual/quad/octo-core processors in just about everything (desktop, laptop, even cellphones). 3) wider playing field Despite the "Intel Inside" campaign, the ARM core is in many more devices. Before the Intel/AMD duopoly, there was a wider playing field as demonstrated by all the hobbyist and pre-PC microsystems: Motorola's 6800, MOS's 6502, Zilog's Z80, RCA's 1802. There was quite the shake-out when the PC architecture "won". In a way, the maker/hacker community is aware of this thanks to the Arduio (most are Atmel AVR based), Raspberry Pi (cheap embedded Linux on the ARM core). That's another way to show how it's history repeating itself with the diversity of competing products. And how more innovation comes from people's basements & garages than large companies. The IoT (Internet of Things) is just a new face to microcontroller hackers. -- jeff jonas

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Interesting find on Craigslist
by Christian Liendo 06 Jan '17

06 Jan '17

So I saw this. Someone is selling cabinets from an older Concurrent 3280 MPS http://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/sys/5925368016.html Reading the ad I figured this is a person we may want to reach out to. Not to buy the cabinets, but as a person who may be good to know and to introduce to our group.

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IBM 34 in Pottstown, Apple, Tandy, IBM
by william degnan 05 Jan '17

05 Jan '17

The Pottstown electroics place has some interesting new items, apparently "just in" http://reading.craigslist.org/sys/5917062970.html Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Briel Computers, Still a going concern?
by Systems Glitch 05 Jan '17

05 Jan '17

I've heard from a few other hobbyists that he's gone radio-silent. I believe someone on this list was working to try and get his kits going again. Thanks, Jonathan On Thu, 5 Jan 2017 18:19:23 +0000 (UTC) Stephen via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > Hi there, > > Does anyone know if this kit maker is still trading? > > http://www.brielcomputers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=1746 > > Kindest regards > > > Stephen Walters > Professional Celebrity Photographer / G7VFY > www.facebook.com/mister35mm > Tel 07956-544202

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Briel Computers, Still a going concern?
by Stephen 05 Jan '17

05 Jan '17

Hi there, Does anyone know if this kit maker is still trading? http://www.brielcomputers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=1746 Kindest regards Stephen Walters Professional Celebrity Photographer / G7VFY www.facebook.com/mister35mm Tel 07956-544202

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Ohio Scientific 560Z (PDP-8 Board) Preorder Open
by Systems Glitch 05 Jan '17

05 Jan '17

Preorders now open: https://services.theglitchworks.net/ng/preorders/new?project=osi_560z Even if you've contacted me about these boards, PLEASE PREORDER! That gets your name and email into my system so I can process the preorders automatically. Thanks, Jonathan

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looking to team up to exhibit
by william degnan 05 Jan '17

05 Jan '17

Hi, Is there anyone who would be interested in teaming up with me this year on an exhibit? I am doing too much else that weekend to do a full exhibit on my own, but I do want to keep my steak going. I have exhibited in every VCF E since #3. I have plenty of time before the show to work on this, my biggest contribution would be made before the actual event. I do not have a lot of transport space. I have no bias as to what hardware, era, software, or market. To me they're all just vintages of computing all worthy of an exhibit. Contact me privately vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm or call me through my company phone # @ degnanco.net Bill

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test, ignore this
by Evan Koblentz 04 Jan '17

04 Jan '17

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 04 Jan '17

04 Jan '17

I posted this last night but it seems to have disappeared in the interweb: --------------- I was at the museum from 10am-8pm today. From 10-12 I gave a pre-scheduled tour to a VIP who works at Medium. Afterward, I went to lunch with Adam M. and then we worked in the warehouse from 1pm-8pm. Progress there is the same as the last few warehouse days -- slow but steady. A visitor would see a mess; we see less of a mess than when we started. :) Oh and here's a warehouse picture for the S-100 fans to drool over. :) http://vcfed.org/evan/s100.jpg (Not shown: our extra SOL-20, extra TDL, SCP, CompuPro, Zenith, etc.)

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Anyone up in NH want to buy a nice mug set?
by Christian Liendo 04 Jan '17

04 Jan '17

I think $100 is a lot but I know some people who might like this http://nh.craigslist.org/clt/5943731304.html

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pidp 8
by william degnan 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

Anyone running Deeper Thought (2) on their PiDP-8? I have both "deeper" and pidp8 on the same box. Problem is, it's hard to cleanly switch from one to the other. Anyone have a process for this. When I run systemctl to manage these do I need to reboot multiple times? Etc. Example - I had deeper running just fine, loads and runs when the system boots. Deeper is not compatible with pidp8, you can't run them at the same time. [tech explanation here]. So, if I want to switch over I have to completely halt one or the other and update init.d, there are a bunch of considerations. I am a much better Windows OS person than Debian, anyone tackle this already and can share how to change over which of the two will load on boot cleanly? What info would I have to supply? I am running Debian Jessie. Thanks BIll

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Galileo spacecraft computer documentation
by VAXman＠tmesis.org 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic writes: >I've dealt with looking for Galileo spacecraft information: > >www.retrotechnology.com/galileo/galileo_1802.html >www.retrotechnology.com/memship/galileo.txt >www.retrotechnology.com/memship/1802_spacecraft.html > >...because of its RCA COSMAC 1802 processors. In the past it was a >challenge to find technical details of 20th century spacecraft, because >of fears of hacking; because it was on paper and not electronic media; >because few were interested. In the 21st century, so much info is thrown >online now, and a lot of archives get digitized. So what's not online >today, may be online tomorrow. > >I'd say, Web search from time to time. But if you have a strong >interest, find out where the former engineers for the project hang out >on the Web, and see if they can point you to more resources. Don't wait >too long: these guys/gals won't last forever. > >The Galileo spacecraft used several 1802's for its instruments, and I >believe it had a bus architecture for communicating to some other 1802's >for communications, data archiving and so on. It won't be a simple >architecture or simple software. Chances are, there were professional >journal publications in the era, which described the general >architecture. I may point to some of them on my Web pages. > >If you find a good resource, let me know, I'll add it to my Web site. http://stickershock23.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Matt-Johnson-uss-enter…

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Galileo spacecraft computer documentation
by Douglas Crawford 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

(The links I provided are referenced on Herb's retrotechnology site, which he previously provided)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Galileo spacecraft computer documentation
by Douglas Crawford 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

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The Real Mad Men of Advertising
by Joseph Oprysko 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

Smithsonian Channel will be airing a show on Sunday nights at 9PM through January called The Real Mad Men of Advertising. I haven't seen the previews for it, but on the 4th week (Jan 29th), I know they're covering the 1980's, including a cameo appearance by a Mac 128k. (Provided by yours truly). Should be an interesting watch covering Advertising from the 1950's through the 1980's. -- Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot. Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do. Normal Person: So you go surfing? Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a lot... Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level. Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?

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Galileo spacecraft computer documentation
by Herb Johnson 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

I've dealt with looking for Galileo spacecraft information: www.retrotechnology.com/galileo/galileo_1802.html www.retrotechnology.com/memship/galileo.txt www.retrotechnology.com/memship/1802_spacecraft.html ...because of its RCA COSMAC 1802 processors. In the past it was a challenge to find technical details of 20th century spacecraft, because of fears of hacking; because it was on paper and not electronic media; because few were interested. In the 21st century, so much info is thrown online now, and a lot of archives get digitized. So what's not online today, may be online tomorrow. I'd say, Web search from time to time. But if you have a strong interest, find out where the former engineers for the project hang out on the Web, and see if they can point you to more resources. Don't wait too long: these guys/gals won't last forever. The Galileo spacecraft used several 1802's for its instruments, and I believe it had a bus architecture for communicating to some other 1802's for communications, data archiving and so on. It won't be a simple architecture or simple software. Chances are, there were professional journal publications in the era, which described the general architecture. I may point to some of them on my Web pages. If you find a good resource, let me know, I'll add it to my Web site. Herb Johnson William O'Neil Research Base Juno, Jupiter

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Semi-OT: Cheap tablets for museum
by Evan Koblentz 03 Jan '17

03 Jan '17

Everyone, We're going to use some tablets in the museum as information kiosks. I bought a fifty-dollar Amazon Kindle Fire 7. Going to return it. It's a nice tablet, but I found out that Amazon's version of Android limits a bunch of things that we would need for a kiosk mode. Nevermind the details of how/why; that's a long story. Bottom line is we need something with conventional Android. I'd like recommendations for other sub-$100 Android tablets (the more sub-$100, the better). Performance is not an issue: all they have to do is run a browser. Android 5.x and minimal hardware specs is good enough.

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Logic simulator
by Mike Loewen 02 Jan '17

02 Jan '17

What's a nice (and free) TTL logic simulator for Linux? Something you can both clock and single-step, and has the basic building block (flip-flops, gates) some higher level components like encoders/decoders. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

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Floppy Days #68 - Interview with Bill Kemper, HP Series 80 Software Engineer
by Randall Kindig 01 Jan '17

01 Jan '17

http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-68-interview-with-bill-kemper-hp-s… <http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-68-interview-with-bill-kemper-hp-s…> Randy Kindig host, Floppy Days Podcast http://www.floppydays.com <http://www.floppydays.com/>

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What The Dormouse Said by John Markoff
by Douglas Crawford 01 Jan '17

01 Jan '17

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Galileo spacecraft computer documentation
by Jeffrey Brace 31 Dec '16

31 Dec '16

Try Frank O'Brien from InfoAge. He know a lot about NASA especially the Apollo guidance computer. On Sat, Dec 31, 2016 at 6:55 AM Ben Greenfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote: > Hey all, > > > > I stumbled across this page and it left me wanting more. > > > > Anyone have any ideas. I tried Bitsavers but couldn’t find. I’m also not > sure how it would be listed. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Ben

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Galileo spacecraft computer documentation
by Ben Greenfield 31 Dec '16

31 Dec '16

Hey all, I stumbled across this page and it left me wanting more. Anyone have any ideas. I tried Bitsavers but couldn’t find. I’m also not sure how it would be listed. Thanks, Ben

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PiDP8
by william degnan 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

Started my PiDP8 project from the simH end, built up a Pi Zero and got it self-booting into simH 4.0 using directions found on the PiDP8 web site and the Google Group. What's nice about the Pi Zero is that one can get enough power right off the display to power USB keyboard and wireless dongles, to make it easier to download whatever files I want. I added a 2.54 mm 40-pin connector to attach to the soon-to-be-completed PiDP box. http://vintagecomputer.net/pictures/2016/PiDP8/ I started with the original Raspberry Pi, but quickly learned you can't use this model, it does not have a 40 pin connector. The RPi Zero does not come with a connector installed, you have to add it yourself but the advantage is that it is smaller and uses less power. I believe I will be able to run power and serial connection through the one port too. Bill

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Warehouse help this Monday
by Evan Koblentz 30 Dec '16

30 Dec '16

Got a helper -- thank you Adam M. Sorry to let down the rest of you who were all begging to spend Monday afternoon in a cold warehouse. :)

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